After much hoo-haa by Malaysian politicians / leaders over the statement made by Minister Mentor of Singapore Mr. Lee Kuan Yew (LKY) over remarks he made about ethnic minority Chinese in Malaysia being marginalised, the Prime Minister of Malaysia officially wrote to the Singapore Government seeking an explanation over the remarks. Some Malaysian politicians went to the extent of demanding an apology.
A letter dated 29th September, 2006 was issued by LKY explaining the remarks he made and expressed his regret that it had caused a great deal of discomfort. This letter was published in the mainstream newspapers such as the NST and The Star. What was mentioned in the reports was the fact that the said letter also has an annexure which records statements made by Malaysian leaders (reported in the media) about Singapore Malays being marginalised. LKY's letter was published but not the annexure. Is there something to hide???
I tried searching for the Annexure to Lee Kuan Yew's letter of "apology" to the Malaysian Government and it took me quite a while till I found AsiaOne News which published the same. According to the Annexure, comments were made by Malaysian leaders on the "marginalisation" of Singaporean Malays over the period of Aug 1998 till as recent as 3rd September, 2006 when the current UMNO Youth Deputy Chief Khairy Jamaluddin was reported in the China Press to have said "...the Malays in Penang faced the same fate of being marginalised as those in Singapore and that many of them were forced to move elsewhere". This is the link to the Annexure which, for reasons best known to our mainstream papers, was not published for all to see.
Despite this slap in the face suffered by our Malaysian leaders for not coming clean when criticising LKY for remarks made by him, I read with disappointment at today's headlines which reads Unimpressed! Response noted, not appreciated and Lee's Statement could have incited feelings of Malaysians wherein it was reported that the Prime Minister merely took note of the contents of the letter, which is short of an acceptance. I must state, however, that some Malaysian leaders are more forgiving as reported here.
The recent spate of publicity does no good to the image of Malaysian leaders as a whole. Our leaders should learn to think carefully before they speak. Here, they have demonstrated to the whole world that they think they have done nothing wrong at all and when criticised, they demand apologies and explanations knowing full well it will back-fire because they have been culprits themselves as shown in the Annexure.
Unless they can search their hearts honestly and be able to stand before God to claim that what was said by LKY are lies, they should strive to prove LKY wrong by ensuring that there will be not facts to show marginalisation of Chinese minority in Malaysia rather than displaying displeasure for the world to see. I cringe at the thought of the world now laughing at our leaders for not practising what they preach.
The other question which begs to be answered is this:- Why was the Annexure not published at all in our local newspaper when it represents part of the official reply given by LKY? Was there a "gag order" issued by the Government to ensure that these records of statements about Singaporean Malays being marginalised be kept away from the public as it represents a slap in the Government's face? Your guess is as good as mine.
Sometimes, it is so easy to see the speck in our neighbour's eyes but fail to see the log in our own eyes.
Technorati Tag : News , Politics , Malaysia , Lee Kuan Yew
A letter dated 29th September, 2006 was issued by LKY explaining the remarks he made and expressed his regret that it had caused a great deal of discomfort. This letter was published in the mainstream newspapers such as the NST and The Star. What was mentioned in the reports was the fact that the said letter also has an annexure which records statements made by Malaysian leaders (reported in the media) about Singapore Malays being marginalised. LKY's letter was published but not the annexure. Is there something to hide???
I tried searching for the Annexure to Lee Kuan Yew's letter of "apology" to the Malaysian Government and it took me quite a while till I found AsiaOne News which published the same. According to the Annexure, comments were made by Malaysian leaders on the "marginalisation" of Singaporean Malays over the period of Aug 1998 till as recent as 3rd September, 2006 when the current UMNO Youth Deputy Chief Khairy Jamaluddin was reported in the China Press to have said "...the Malays in Penang faced the same fate of being marginalised as those in Singapore and that many of them were forced to move elsewhere". This is the link to the Annexure which, for reasons best known to our mainstream papers, was not published for all to see.
Despite this slap in the face suffered by our Malaysian leaders for not coming clean when criticising LKY for remarks made by him, I read with disappointment at today's headlines which reads Unimpressed! Response noted, not appreciated and Lee's Statement could have incited feelings of Malaysians wherein it was reported that the Prime Minister merely took note of the contents of the letter, which is short of an acceptance. I must state, however, that some Malaysian leaders are more forgiving as reported here.
The recent spate of publicity does no good to the image of Malaysian leaders as a whole. Our leaders should learn to think carefully before they speak. Here, they have demonstrated to the whole world that they think they have done nothing wrong at all and when criticised, they demand apologies and explanations knowing full well it will back-fire because they have been culprits themselves as shown in the Annexure.
Unless they can search their hearts honestly and be able to stand before God to claim that what was said by LKY are lies, they should strive to prove LKY wrong by ensuring that there will be not facts to show marginalisation of Chinese minority in Malaysia rather than displaying displeasure for the world to see. I cringe at the thought of the world now laughing at our leaders for not practising what they preach.
The other question which begs to be answered is this:- Why was the Annexure not published at all in our local newspaper when it represents part of the official reply given by LKY? Was there a "gag order" issued by the Government to ensure that these records of statements about Singaporean Malays being marginalised be kept away from the public as it represents a slap in the Government's face? Your guess is as good as mine.
Sometimes, it is so easy to see the speck in our neighbour's eyes but fail to see the log in our own eyes.
Technorati Tag : News , Politics , Malaysia , Lee Kuan Yew
